Old Grad's Nostalgia

On a fall Saturday not long ago a gentleman in a polo coat and muffler stood for some time on the corner by the Old Campus in New Haven watching busload after busload leave for the Yale Bowl. Finally the starter, worrying that the gent would miss the kick-off, walked over to him. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Well, I'm waiting for one of the open trolley cars," the gent replied. For years the local transportation company, as full of tradition as a Yale sophomore, had trotted out the open-air trams every fall Saturday to transport spectators from the campus to the field.

"Ah," the starter said, shaking his head, "they're gone. They've taken them off for good."

At this the visitor spun on his heel and without another word, climbed into a nearby taxi to take the next train to New York.